Vintage Flair

I really need to get to reviewing new food items at a faster pace. Chick-fil-A came out with their all new dessert menu at least one month ago, and it wasn’t until this past weekend that I finally tried an item. Boasting with Vintage Flair, I tried a Chocolate Chip cookie from the great CFA and asked myself why it took me so darn long to try it. In my area, CFA did not put a ton of advertising into its new dessert menu. Basically, the menu was updated and a comment or two was made about it. In the end, it wasn’t until I traveled to Tampa to watch USF Softball (which they won both games of a double-header) that I made this cookie mine.

While CFA has had their famous shakes & IceDream for a while, that was basically the extent of their dessert menu. Yes, they had those prepackaged brownies as well but, I think the shakes were really their high-point. As someone who enjoys shakes but receives a horrible stomach ache after consuming one, my dessert choices had been limited to the IceDream. Until, I ordered their Chocolate Chip Cookie. CFA claims the cookie contains oat pieces just like the old days. After we placed our order at CFA, I remembered about these cookies. Good for me, I was at CFA. I kindly asked for the cookies to be added to my order and received no issues at all. If this was any where other than CFA, I would have made my way around the drive-thru and ordered again.

The cookies arrived hot and in individual bags. There is something so magical about a warm chocolate chip cookie. And the keyword is warm. If it’s too hot, the flavors are lacking. I saved my cookie until I finished scarfing down my food (…let’s go. Finish eating while we are driving…) and the cookie had achieved the perfect temperature at this point. I removed my cookie from its bag and was astounded by the size of it. Not only was the cookie large in circumference, this thing was also crazy thick. This totally reminded me of a homemade cookie – oversized & overstuffed. I broke off a piece of the cookie and found the rim to be slightly more crispy then the soft & gooey exterior. Perfect – everything about this cookie was so dead on.

As I transported the cookie piece from my mouth upwards towards my mouth, my brain was starting to process what the cookie would taste like. Granted, it was dark in the car so the only real look I got at the cookie was via the camera flash. As the cookie reached my mouth, and the digestive process began, I was hit with an onslaught of flavors. First thing I noticed were the chocolate chips. I must have hit a piece with a lot of them. The chocolate was semi-sweet, melting and totally succulent in flavor. CFA certainly used some good chocolate for these cookies. The chocolate chips were great on their own but with the rest of the cookie, they were even better. I could taste the pieces of oats in this cookie. While they were in no way over-bearing, or the main factor of the cookie, I could indeed tell they were there. This provided the cookie with an additional texture. While it did gain the oat texture, it did also keep the gooey-normal chocolate chip cookie texture.

I could also taste the normal chocolate chip cookie flavor within this cookie however, it was not nearly as sugary as chocolate chip cookies tend to be. While I could pick out bits of sugar flavor, the overall cookie itself was in no way overwhelmed with sugar. I really appreciate this because it allowed the chocolate chips & texture to really be the key component. There is almost nothing worse than over-sugared chocolate chip cookies. CFA certainly nailed down the amount of sugar to be used. The end result of this cookie was a winner indeed. If you gave someone this cookie to blind taste test, I would almost guarantee you they would have no idea it came from a fast food restaurant.

I have always said that CFA is the nicest, cleanest and best overall fast food restaurant there is. It comes as no surprise to me that their Chocolate Chip Cookies would be so great. All it takes is that extra bit of effort – selecting quality ingredients, mixing in vintage flair and providing great service, that sets not only this cookie, but CFA as a whole, apart from the rest. I absolutely loved the melty chocolate chips of this cookie and found the overall flavor to be straight up vintage. If you have never been to a CFA, or don’t have one in your town, I totally recommend making a mecca to one. You will not be disappointed. And if you live by a CFA, make a trip there as well. After you polish off your Nuggies & Fries, be sure to opt for some Vintage Flair in the form of a Chocolate Chip Cookie.